Here’s why you should be more careful on public WiFi networks

Thousands of people have been connecting to dodgy WiFi networks set up by ECU researchers.

WiFi access is something we take for granted, but accessing the wrong 'free' networks could be putting our devices and identities at risk according to ECU researchers.

Would you connect your smartphone or device to a WiFi network called FBI Surveillance Van or Compromised Police Network?

You might have answered no, but thousands of people around Perth have been connecting their devices to a series of dodgy WiFi networks set up by ECU researchers Dr Patryk Szewczyk and Dr Krishnun Sansurooah from ECU's School of Science and Security Research Institute.

They're cautioning users to be more careful of supposedly free WiFi networks as they provide an easy target for cyber criminals to compromise devices like smartphones or laptops by inserting malware or stealing personal information.